Game Observations: Ohio State Defense vs. Nebraska
Here is my instant reaction of the Buckeyes defense from today's 52-17 season-opening victory on Saturday against Nebraska:
First and foremost, Nebraska came to play. Ohio State knows they are going to get everyone's best shot each week, and combined with the fact that it's the first game of the season, the 'Huskers offense was effective in the first half. 377 yards of total offense is a fair representation of their efforts today. Nebraska looks far better than they did last year.
Nebraska's offensive line is terrific and they controlled the line of scrimmage almost the entire first half, racking up 109 yards on the ground and scoring a pair of touchdowns. It took Ohio State two full quarters to really hit it's stride.
I thought the linebacking crew played a rock solid second half of football. Pete Werner, Tuf Borland and Baron Browning were flying to the football in the second half.
The defensive line struggled in the first half to get any pressure on Adrian Martinez, who broke contain many times when he did roll out of the pocket. But they also had a much better second half, especially Haskell Garrett. Considering what Garrett has been through over the last two months, the mere fact he was on the field today is a miracle - let alone coming up with a sack and playing as well as he did.
The Ohio State secondary played fine. They didn't really have too many chances to make flashy plays. Shaun Wade had a beautiful pass defended (which he nearly intercepted) and Marcus Hooker and Josh Proctor played well at safety. Sevyn Banks had a fumble return for a touchdown, which was one of the game's biggest highlights.
I'm sure the Buckeyes are going to see more of an aerial attack next week against Penn State. The best way to help a secondary in coverage is to have a good pass rush. The Buckeyes need to apply more pressure next week and speed up Sean Clifford's mental clock. Today's pass rush was better in the second half and it's probably not fair to compare it to the pass rush with Chase Young or the Bosa brothers ... but it wasn't as good as Ohio State has grown accustomed to seeing. Some of that credit certainly goes to the Nebraska O-line.
All in all ... three sacks, five tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, a defensive touchdown and 35-point win isn't a bad day at the office. The Buckeyes forced four 3-and-outs and allowed only one meaningless field goal over the last eight Nebraska possessions.
